1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to forming a distinct pattern in an article of apparel.
2. Related Art
It is often desired to apply or create a distinct pattern or design in fabric of an article of apparel to improve an aesthetic appearance of the article. For instance, oftentimes popular tee shirts are altered by applying a pattern or design to the front or back of the fabric of the tee shirt to convey a message or display a logo or other information. Other articles of apparel, such as pants, coats, backpacks, etc. are also similarly adorned with distinct patterns or designs.
Due to complexities in apparel manufacturing, such distinct patterns or designs are often applied to the articles of apparel after the articles have been partly or wholly assembled. This is due to the fact that, while various dyeing, weaving, and other fabric manufacturing processes can be used to create a variety of colors or patterns in a fabric, it is difficult to apply a particular pattern or design to a fabric and have the pattern or design appear in a predetermined position on a finished article of apparel formed from the fabric. For example, if it is desired to create a pair of pants having a “stone washed” appearance, a quantity of denim can be treated to create “stone washed” fabric, and the various pieces of the pants, i.e., front, back, pockets, etc., are simply cut from the stone washed fabric and assembled or sewn together to form the pants. Because the entire piece of fabric includes the stone washed design, the cut-out pieces which are assembled to form the pants can be cut from any section of the stone washed denim.
However, difficulties arise if it is desired to apply a distinct pattern or design to a pair of pants only in a particular location on the pants, such as applying a particular picture or a particular phrase located and centered on one leg of the pants. If done prior to assembling the pants, the particular design or pattern would be applied to the fabric and the unassembled pieces of the pants would be cut precisely around the particular design to ensure that the design appeared in the proper area of the pants after assembling the pants. Exercising such care prior to cutting the pieces of the pants necessarily involves increased attention to tolerances, material management, and assembly of the pants, resulting in higher costs associated with manufacturing the pants.
Consequently, conventional methods of applying particular patterns or designs to articles of apparel have evolved such that, if a particular design is to be applied in a particular area of the article, it is generally applied after the article has been assembled. Some such methods known in the art include silk screening and embroidery. These conventional methods can be problematic in that they can be relatively expensive to apply. Also, the finished product produced by such methods necessarily includes added material, such as the silk screen or the embroidery thread, which protrudes above the upper surface of the fabric forming the article. Such added material can detract from the appearance of the original fabric used in the article of apparel. In addition, after repeated wear and washing, the added material forming the particular design can become damaged or removed from the fabric of the article of apparel, resulting in an article of apparel that is not aesthetically pleasing.
One method of altering an article of apparel after it has been assembled involves the process of dyeing or bleaching the fabric of the article of apparel to form differently colored sections of the fabric. For instance, a bleaching or dyeing process can be used to create popular “stone washed,” “tie-dyed,” “sand washed,” or other types of apparel finishing after the apparel has been assembled. However, the methods used to create these types of articles have proven sufficiently imprecise such that they are utilized only in applications that do not require a high degree of definition. Dyeing or bleaching methods have proven successful when the desired result is a mottled, or otherwise undefined design, but have not been successfully used to create defined patterns or images in articles of apparel. For example, if a conventional dyeing or bleaching method is used to form a particular image, the image appears as a non-distinct or undefined image. To a person viewing the article of apparel, the pattern or design appears out of focus, or “blurry.”
It is believed that the failure of conventional bleaching or dyeing methods to form patterns on articles of apparel is due in part to the wicking properties of fabric. If a dye or bleach is applied to a particular section of a fabric, the dye or bleach often wicks, or absorbs, into areas outside the particular section to which the bleach or dye was applied. Thus, if the bleach or dye is applied to the fabric in a particular design, the wicking effect causes the bleach or dye to wick beyond the edges of the particular design, and results in a finished design with a non-distinct or undefined appearance.
Some prior art methods have attempted to solve the problems associated with using bleaching or dyeing methods to apply distinct or defined designs to articles of apparel. One such method includes the use of masking material to mask a particular area on the surface of the fabric of the article. After the masking material is applied to the surface of the fabric, a bleaching or dyeing agent is used to color or discolor the fabric surrounding the masking material. Such masking materials include common masking tape, wax pencils, clay, grease, and other materials which are used to adhere to the surface of the fabric in an attempt to mask or block a dyeing or bleaching agent from affecting the area on which the masking material is applied.
These conventional prior art methods have proved problematic, however, because the masking material protects only the upper surface of the material. The problems associated with wicking or absorption of dyeing or bleaching agents are not addressed by these methods because the dyeing or bleaching agents wick, or absorb, into the fabric under the masking material. Attempts to use dyeing or bleaching agents in combination with masking materials to create defined, distinct designs in fabric have thus failed, as the resulting design is indistinct and undefined, and appears on the article of apparel as an out of focus, or “fuzzy” image.